


My Mom Told Me About a Thread

by uchiuchi



Category: Free!
Genre: Children, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 19:57:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uchiuchi/pseuds/uchiuchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto’s too scared to sleep, so Haru starts talking to him in an effort to get him to calm down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Mom Told Me About a Thread

~ 7 Years Ago ~

Makoto had his face buried into Haruka’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around the other and trembling with fear. His eyes slowly hovered over to the window where a streak of light flashed across the panes, a crash of thunder causing him to jerk his head back towards his friend and shut his eyes tightly. He desperately tried to keep his mouth closed - whimpers were escaping that he was afraid would wake up Haruka - but his breaths were coming out in such quick spurts that his lips kept parting by themselves to take in some air.

With every roar of thunder, every whistle of wind, every snapping of branches, every thud as objects hit the outside wall, his nails dug deeper and deeper into the dark-haired male’s shirt and his legs bent closer and closer to his chest.

"Makoto."

With the sound of his name, Makoto could feel the other’s body shift and turn. He slowly raised his head and was met with Haru’s blue eyes, staring intensely into his. At first a sense of relief washed over him, but that quickly turned into sadness as he realized he’d disturbed the other.

"I’m sorry," he mumbled under his breath. "I just…"

"Are you scared?" Haru questioned. "Of the storm?"

Makoto could only nod and wince as another crash of thunder sounded outside. His fingers curled as he once again strengthened his hold on Haru’s shirt, but when he realized that it wasn’t only the fabric his nails were touching, he recoiled them. Just below where the sleeve ended, a patch of the young boy’s skin turned a light pink. Makoto hadn’t noticed until now how hard he’d been holding onto his friend’s arm.

"Did I hurt you?"

"It’s fine. I don’t mind."

"It’s really loud," the brunet murmured, and upon sight of Haru drawing his brows together he added, "I mean the storm. I can’t sleep."

"We can talk until you get tired," Haru suggested.

"That wouldn’t be fair to you. It’s okay if you go back to sleep."

"Makoto." The scared boy, who’d averted his gaze due to embarrassment, looked back up at Haru, who hadn’t. "We can talk."

He let out a shaky sigh and looked at the ceiling. “I can’t wait till I’m older. Then I won’t be afraid of anything.”

"People are still scared of things when they’re big."

Makoto laughed. “That’s true, I guess,” he shrugged with a big smile, turning back to Haru who was still focused on him. “Ne, Haru-chan, when I’m older I can move to any place I want! I’d love to live somewhere with no storms. Then I could sleep nice all the time.”

Haru didn’t respond. He just gave a small nod.

"But I like it here, too, because you’re here," he mused. Haru’s blue eyes widened and began to swim, but still no words escaped his mouth. "I would take you with me. Would you come with me?"

He huffed a little and turned his head, his lips drawing into a pout as a slight blush covered his cheeks.

"You don’t need to be shy, Haru-chan," Makoto assured him. "It would be so much fun. We could be with each other all the time. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?"

"It…" His blush darkened and his next words came out as a bit of a grumble. "I-I would like that."

Another small laughed escaped his mouth. “You know why else I can’t wait to get older?”

"Hm?"

"My mom told me about something that happens when you turn 18," he began. "It’s about a red thread of fate."

Haru turned back to his friend, confusion dawning on his face.

"She said that there’s this red string that’s tied around your finger and it connects to somebody else. And it shows you who you’re going to be the happiest with," he explained. "It shows who will be the most important in your life and when you’re 18, you can see it."

Haru blinked. “So it leads you to your best friend?”

"I think so," Makoto mumbled.

"Oh."

"So that’s why I can’t wait!" His eyes lit up. "I wanna know who that person is!"

Haru’s eyes widened once again but he didn’t turn away. Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile. “Would that make you happy?”

"Of course," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "And when you’re 18, you’ll be able to see it, too."

Haru nodded.

"I wonder if you can feel the string," Makoto thought aloud, a yawn escaping his throat. All his worries about the ongoing storm seemed to slip away as fatigue clouded over him. He rubbed his eyes. "And if I put my hand up, will that make their hand go up too? Like a puppet?"

"I hope not," Haru sighed. His gaze was now on the wall and after Makoto’s explanation, his mind was reeling. He didn’t know why, but the red string had caught his attention and his insides were churning as a result. He really, really wanted to see it. He absolutely couldn’t wait, but his face didn’t show it. When Makoto didn’t respond to his words, his eyes flickered back to the brunet and saw that his lids were partly closed, breaths becoming softer and slower. "Are you tired?"

The boy nodded and looked up at Haru through his lashes. “Ne, Haru, can you give me another pillow?”

"How come?"

"So if I get scared again, I can grab onto it. I don’t want to hurt you."

Haru blinked. “I said it was fine, Makoto,” and with that, he held out his hand. The boy, although sleepy, was able to make it out and gently slid his hand onto the other’s palm. Their fingers intertwined. “If you get scared, you can just squeeze my hand.”

"Are you sure?" he asked groggily.

"I’m sure." Haru shifted onto his side, his eyes on his friend. "Goodnight, Makoto."

"Goodnight, Haru-chan."

Haru was still awake minutes after Makoto had dozed off. However, when he finally relaxed and slid his eyes shut, all he could think about was the thread.

That night, both boys had dreams about the legend. Both boys envisioned themselves turning 18, seeing the thread, and following it. Both boys imagined walking down the street, across the park, wherever, to find the person on the other end.

In Makoto’s dream, it was Haru.

In Haru’s dream, it was Makoto.

Both boys couldn’t imagine it being anyone else.


End file.
